


Run, baby, run.

by kyloskummies



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Assassin AU, Fighting As Foreplay, He's also a single dad, Kidfic, M/M, accidental coffee shop au, and he could kick your ass, assholes in love, but he's too busy kicking his own ass, he could kick my ass, hux has a daughter, whoops, with a hidden dark past
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-26
Updated: 2017-02-26
Packaged: 2018-09-27 01:00:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9943244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyloskummies/pseuds/kyloskummies
Summary: Hux is an accountant with a normal life, a normal job and a perfect daughter. Ben is a barista at the coffee shop Hux frequents before work. Everything is fine and normal and maybe even good for once, until Kylo Ren shows up and Hux's past comes to light and their lives become too interconnected to separate, even if they wanted to.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this as a gift for someone and it's my first time writing or posting a fic. I hope you like it! Special thanks to Helen for editing. You're the real MVP!

The blaring of an alarm clock cut through the dark and Hux shut it off with a harsh slap before the second ring could even escape it. His feet touched the floor long before any sunlight would and he padded to the bathroom, not bothering to turn on the light. He flicked on the bathroom light and avoided eye contact with his reflection as he brushed his teeth. After spitting harshly into the sink he watched the foam and blood swirl down the drain as he flicked on the tap. He splashed his face with a handful of cold water and the shock of it woke him a little more, and he toweled his face dry, wincing at the snag of it against his stubble. He promised himself he’d shave later as he flicked the light off on his way out of the bathroom. 

Lights flicked on, one by one, as he made his way down the hall and into the living room. He put on some light, classical music and opened the blinds along the wall to the left of him, revealing a wall of windows with the graying sky beyond them. Once finished he stepped up onto the treadmill in the corner of the room, facing the windows and the city beyond them. He pressed the button and with a soft ‘beep’ his morning cycle began. He ran relatively easily for three miles, and watched as the sun began to peek over the horizon and set the sky on fire. 

He’d be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy the beauty of nature, and his favorite sight had to be a sunrise or sunset. There was just something about the way the sky lit up with brilliant reds and oranges, and how the light seeping through the clouds was somehow soft and harsh all at the same time that held his attention. It reminded him of kissing a head of soft red curls and the color of blood on pavement and the diffused yellow lights of a little city in Italy at night. He wondered how long it would take the world to burn through, like a loaf of bread left too long in the oven, if the sun were to swell and swallow it up whole. It was then that he realized his legs were burning, screaming at him for a break. He simply sighed and pressed a button, increasing his speed until he was nearly sprinting for the last half of his fourth mile. 

As he slowed to a walk and finally a stop, his breathing was so harsh it nearly drowned out the soft music filling the room. The sweat on his neck and chest cooled as he stepped down and his hand came up to scrub at it absently as he shut off the music and made his way back down the hallway, into his room, and through to the bathroom. He grimaced at the the feeling of his clothes peeling away from the sweat on his body and tossed them into the hamper in the corner. He stepped under the hot stream of water and sighed as he felt the tension leave his back and shoulders. After a quick wash and an even quicker shampoo and condition of his hair, because he hated the feeling of the conditioner between his fingers, he stepped out and toweled off. 

Wrapping the towel around his waist, he made his way into his room and walked over to the wardrobe, removing a freshly starched, crisp white shirt and ironed black slacks. He opened the drawer to his left and removed a pair of neatly folded, black socks. He laid everything out on his bed and dressed slowly, enjoying the last of the sunrise visible through the window above his bed before he picked up a tie off the rack atop his dresser and did it up beneath his collar as he made his way into the hallway again. He stopped at the door across from his own and pushed it open slowly before peaking inside. It was dark and relatively quiet; the only sounds to be heard were tiny, soft snores from the corner of the room. 

He smiled and tiptoed quietly into the darkness, navigating his way across the room slowly. His foot came into contact with a small pile of legos about halfway across the room and a lesser man would’ve screamed. Hux just held his breath and counted to ten and made a mental note to bring it up later. Carefully he made his way across the last bit to the window on the far wall and pulled the curtains aside and lifted the blinds, letting the sunlight in. Suddenly he was surrounded by pink. Pink everywhere. Pink walls. A pink carpet. A pink toy chest and a pink dresser and a pink canopy over a pink bed. Pink, Pink, Pink. 

A soft groan came from under the canopy and a small hand reached out to throw the curtain to the side. A tangled mane of red curls poked out a moment later and a tiny, grumbling voice carried over to him. “Who turned on the sun?”

Hux felt a laugh bubble up in his chest as he made his way over to help his little lion out of bed. “Who else?” He asked and pushed her hair away from her face as he let her lean against him. “The sun never turns off, dear. It only rises and sets.” He explained softly, holding her to his chest. 

“Well one day I’m gonna invent a way to turn it off so I don’t have to wake up so early,” she huffed and his smile grew as he shook his head. 

“I don’t doubt you’d be the one to do it,” He held her at arm's length before standing up and guiding her slowly toward the door. “Come on little lion, it’s time to begin your day.” 

She whined but followed him into the hallway and let herself be ushered into the bathroom just to the left. He knelt down again in front of her. “Alright. What’s our morning routine?” He asked as he picked up the toothpaste and toothbrush from the holder and began preparing it for her. 

She counted off on her little hands. “Wake up. Brush my teeth. Shower. Get dressed. Make my bed.” She beamed up at him and he booped her nose softly. 

“Millie, you’ve forgotten the most important part.” Her eyebrows knit together and she studied her hands intently for a moment and he reached down to raised another of her fingers and pointed to it. “Breakfast.”

Her face lit up in a gap toothed smile and she bounced excitedly. “Oh yeah! I forgot!”

He was still amazed that such small things could bring her such joy. Handing over the toothbrush, he made sure it was secure in her hand before he stood up. “What would you like for breakfast?” 

She’d already began brushing enthusiastically but paused to think hard for a moment before looking up at him. “Pizza?!” She requested through a mouthful of bubblegum flavored foam.

Hux crossed his arms and gave her a pointed look. “Is pizza really suitable for breakfast?” 

She spat into the sink and rinsed it away, not looking up at him as she spoke. “It has cheese, meat, bread, and vegetables. It’s balanced!”

He didn’t have the heart to tell her that the food pyramid really didn’t apply anymore and that they should take it out of schools, so instead he compromised, which was something he’d been slowly becoming an expert in over the past six years. “How about pizza omelettes?” 

“So like pizza but with eggs instead of crust?” She looked thoroughly puzzled.

“Yes, exactly!” He feigned excitement in an attempt to sway her decision.

“Yes! Pizza eggs!” She hopped excitedly. 

Score one for dad. He smiled and patted her head before turning to make his way into the kitchen and begin preparing their breakfast. He laid out all the ingredients and went about methodically making two omelettes, one pizza themed and the other plain with spinach. As he was finishing up, Millie, dressed in her school uniform, came into the kitchen and hopped up to sit one one of the tall stools at the bar. She swung her little feet as Hux sat an omelette in front of her with a glass of orange juice. She clapped excitedly and dug in, cutting off a large bite before popping it into her mouth. “Yummy!” She exclaimed around the mouthful of food and Hux sighed and gave her a slight disapproving look. 

“We do not speak with our mouths full. If I wanted to see what you were eating I’d just look at your plate,” he reprimanded her softly and took his seat next to her.

She washed the bite down with a large gulp of juice and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before she smiled broadly up at him. “Sorry dad this is just so yummy! You’re such a good cook!” She went back to scarfing down her breakfast and he smiled as he ate his own, with much more finesse.  
She idolized him. He wondered what he’d ever done, outside of the ordinary, to warrant such unconditional adoration. On most days he felt completely undeserving of it. Being a parent had to be the most difficult job that he’d been the most ill-equipped for, but moments like this made it all worth it.  
Once they were finished he got up to wash the dishes, telling Millie to grab her school bag because they’d be leaving in exactly nine minutes. She bounded away to do just that, and once the dishes were done and her shoelaces were tied and Hux’s suit jacket was on, they were taking the elevator twenty stories down and walking out into the brightly lit morning, hand in hand. 

The five blocks to the school were filled with idle chatter about the color of the sky and how sometimes during recess the children liked to make shapes in the clouds and Millie once found a dragon shaped cloud and then she went on a tangent about how if dragons were real we could ride them instead of driving cars and we could feed them dragon food. Taking a moment to wonder how she spoke without ever taking a breath, he asked her “And what is dragon food?

“Broccoli,” she replied without missing a beat and Hux burst out in laughter. 

“Oh really? And would this have anything to do with the fact that you don’t like broccoli?” He gave her a skeptical look and she skipped beside him, smiling and shaking her head.

“Nope.”

“Oh sure. We’ll just feed the dragons all the broccoli and then there’ll be none left for you. That seems like a very strange coincidence to me.”

“Coincidences are strange things.” She shrugged and he shook his head. He loved her more than anything, and to watch her develop her own personality and autonomy had been his greatest gift. She was becoming quite the comic, and he found himself laughing more at her jokes than anything else. 

They made it to the large iron gates in front of the school, which were open and filling with a steady stream of students and parents. He knelt in front of her and she hugged him tightly, wrapping her little arms around his neck. He kissed the crown of her head and she pulled away. Hux took her small hands in his own. “What time will I be here to pick you up?” 

“Six.”

He nodded. “Good. What are you to be doing while waiting for me?”

“Homework.”

“And if anyone else but me tries to pick you up?”

“Yell for help and don’t go with them.” 

He smiled softly and gave her another quick hug before standing up. “Okay. You know the drill,” he gestured towards the open gates, “mind your instructors and play nice with your classmates, alright?” He always hated leaving her there, where she wasn’t under his constant supervision. It was a little easier each new day of first grade, but her first day of kindergarten had reduced him to tears. He’d been anxious the entire day and had even picked her up an hour early from school. 

She rushed forward and hugged his legs before smiling at him and bounding away, calling over her shoulder, “don’t worry. I love you bye!” 

He smiled, waving back at her and made sure she was safely inside the school before he turned to continue on his way to the coffee shop two blocks away. The closer he got, the more his thoughts wandered toward the very attractive barista that had been working the counter for the past three weeks. Hux wondered how Ben had ended up in a coffee shop in southern Georgia and not on the cover of Vogue or something. The man was seriously attractive. The first time they’d met Hux had been a mess, completely caught off guard by the new guy and definitely a little more than blown away by him. He was awkward in the overly large, sweet kind of way and Hux found himself completely smitten with it. If he’d had any room in his life for another person he was certain that he’d try to make Ben that person, but as it were the circumstances just weren’t favorable for any type of relationship on his part. 

He ducked into the little coffee shop a few moments later and filed into the queue behind a tall business woman. Behind him, in filed a large, burly man. The line moved slowly and as they all shuffled collectively he checked his email, the weather, and the news. The lady in front of him dashed away, speaking loudly into her phone with a latte in her other hand. He was jolted out of getting lost in the sound of her heels clicking on the floor as a bright cup with a black lid was sat in front of him. He looked up to find Ben leaning on the counter, smiling at him with that stupid apron on and that stupid hair up in a bun. 

“Chai Tea Latte with soy, vanilla, no whip and an extra shot, right?” Ben asked and scooted the drink a little closer.

Hux nodded dumbly, and reached out to take the cup. Their fingers brushed and any coherent thought he had went out the window. He wanted to pretend that he didn’t imagine it when Ben didn’t pull his hand away immediately. “I, yes, thank you.” He smiled back and tried to regain just a bit of his composure. 

Ben laughed and Hux seriously thought he was going to die right there on the spot. “Don’t sweat it, just figured I’d save you the trouble of saying all that.” He winked and yep, Hux died. He definitely died right then and there. 

Hux retrieved his wallet and plucked his credit card from it, handing it over and as he did Ben reached for it and their hands brushed again and yes, that definitely seemed intentional then. Ben swiped it and handed it back and there was that damn hand again. Hux was certain now that Ben was just doing it to see him get flustered. He put his card away quickly and pocketed his wallet and when he looked up Ben was looking at him with a question written all over his face. As he opened his mouth to ask “I was wondering if maybe-”, he was cut off by the large man behind Hux coughing loudly, a clear sign that he wanted them to get on with it. 

Ben huffed and closed his mouth and offered Hux an apologetic shrug, and Hux mentally went through every way he could cause the man behind him any amount of pain at all. He picked up his coffee and smiled at Ben with a nod before stepping away, making sure to ‘accidentally’ take a step back onto their interlopers foot, causing him to yelp and Ben to turn away for a moment to hide his laughter. Hux took it as a win and smiled to himself as he ducked out of the cafe and headed in the direction of his office building. 

A few more blocks of walking, sipping his coffee and trying hard to ignore the tingling in his hand, Hux arrived at the quaint, two story office building on the corner of North and Birch. He made his way in with the small flow of employees and clients and took the elevator up to the second floor. He returned pleasantries directed at him by others in the office as he made his way toward the back of the building. His assistant leaned forward, farther onto her desk, showing off something he very much didn’t want to see. He’d have fired her a long time ago but she was the only assistant so far that had the mind to write  
down his appointments for him. She smiled at him. “Good morning, Mr. Anderson.” 

Hux faked a smile at her but tried not to let anything seep into it that she might take the wrong way. “Good morning to you as well, Marla. Could you forward my schedule to me today?” He asked as he made his way into the office with the door placard that said “Ryan Anderson”. It wasn’t really a question, but she wasn’t one to react well to direct orders. He heard a faint “of course sir,” before he pushed the door closed and made his way over to his desk. His office wasn’t the best. It was small, and the window had a view of the back of another building, but it served it’s purpose. He could work without being interrupted, and had a mountain of books to balance before the end of the quarter. 

Though it was boring, being an accountant had it’s perks. The job was pretty steady, and the clients one received were all looking for the same thing so surprises were a rare occurrence. His hours were always nine to five and he could take lunch whenever he wanted. He also never had to take work home with him, which was a big plus considering all of his home time was dedicated to Millie. Would he like a more exciting job? Certainly. However, the job he had was the best one he could have and also have what he wanted outside of work, so it would have to do. 

He sipped his coffee and looked over his schedule idly as he moved his thoughts from Ben to Work. He pulled out the books he’d been working on balancing and those took up most of his morning. He took lunch in his office and his afternoon was full of planning for the next quarter. By five thirty he was tired of looking at numbers and just wanted to go home and watch a documentary with Millie. She was a strange kid, never having had much interest in cartoons. She preferred nature or space documentaries. Sure, she also had wild, fantastic ideas and loved to play pretend, but she was also very grounded in the real world and Hux found it absolutely delightful because it gave them ground to talk about things where he didn’t have to feign interest. 

Deciding not to torture himself with work any longer, he put on his jacket and left his office as clean as he’d found it that morning. Marla smiled at him suggestively on his way out and he brushed it off as politely as he could before he made his way to the elevator, down to the first floor and out into the dimming evening. He walked back the same way he’d taken to work earlier in the day, not really paying attention to anything, as he was preoccupied with getting to the school to retrieve Millie before the nuns lost their patience with him for being late again that week. He was startled out of his thoughts when a voice to the left of him called out a soft “hey.” He turned around quickly to face the person who’d addressed him and found Ben leaning up against the outside wall of the coffee shop. 

“Oh,” he sighed in relief, “uhm, hello.” He hadn’t expected to see him standing there, sipping on a latte, looking too good for someone who was presumably working a double, if he was still at the coffee shop this late. 

“Hi,” Ben said slowly, grin stretching with the drag of his words and pushed off the wall, taking a few slow steps toward Hux. Hux fought the urge to take a step back. 

“Is there uh, something that you needed?” Hus asked quietly, mind calculating the time this conversation would take and if he’d be late picking Millie up again.  
Ben laughed softly, pushing his hair behind his ear in an awkward, cute gesture that shouldn’t have made Hux’s mouth as dry as it did. “Actually, yeah. About earlier, before that rude fucker interrupted us.”

Hux nodded, but he was thinking ‘do not ask me out. If you do I probably won’t say no and I can’t afford to say yes you gorgeous idiot’.  
Ben looked down at his feet for a quick moment and then back up at Hux, and his words were hesitant and stilted and a little too soft. “I was wondering if maybe you’d like to go out with me sometime? Maybe for a drink or something?” 

Hux fought the urge to sigh and pinch the bridge of his nose. Damn it. This is exactly what he didn’t want. There was no way anything could ever come of this, not with him being a single father with no free time and all. The idea was a lovely fantasy though, and one that he wished he could actualize but he knew he’d never actually go for it. The risks were just too high. “I-” he began and cleared his throat, “that’s really sweet of you to ask, really.” He smiled up at Ben and hoped that it wasn’t sad. “I just don’t think that I’m going to meet whatever expectations you have for this. I’m not a very...datable person,” he admitted softly with a shrug and tried in vain not to look at his watch. He really had to get to the school. 

Ben blinked in surprise and then burst out in a peal of laughter. “I don’t think that’s something for you to judge, whether you live up to my expectations or not!” He crossed his arms, fixing Hux with a look and Hux knew that he wasn’t going to take no for an answer, and he really didn’t have the time to argue with him.

He huffed. Ben was technically right and he really couldn’t argue with that logic and he definitely had to get to the school very, very soon. “Okay,” he relented,  
“Okay. Fine.” He lifted his hands in a ‘you win’ gesture. “But I get to say I told you so.” What was he doing? He told himself he definitely would not do this and look what he was doing? What was wrong with him? 

Ben’s smile broadened and it was brilliant and Hux felt his heart drop a little. “Okay. Alright. If you’re not as incredible as I seriously think you’ll be, you can say ‘I told you so’.” 

Hux laughed softly and shook his head. “You’re impossible.” He looked at his watch and cursed, looking back up at Ben with an apologetic expression. “I really, really have to go. Maybe we can work this out tomorrow morning?” He was sure he looked disgustingly hopeful.

“Of course,” Ben bit his lips and smiled Hux almost forgot how to put one foot in front of the other as the other man nodded in the direction that Hux was headed before. 

Hux nodded gratefully and took off at a brisk walk, hearing a faint “bye, mister Hux” behind him. He was too concerned with getting to the school to notice those last words, or the people passing him by. The nuns were going to be furious. He was going to be late again, all because of that ridiculous, beautiful stranger. He kicked himself about it the entire way and was breathing a bit hard as he made it into the school with only a minute to spare.  
The nun at the front desk, Sister Agatha, gave him a disapproving look as she went to retrieve his daughter from the nearby classroom. He just gave her a breathless smile, certain that she’d just been waiting to give him a proper scolding for being irresponsible. A moment later Millie ran out of the classroom clutching a paper that was decorated in various stickers, and as she hugged his legs he was sure she’d transferred some glitter onto his suit pants. He couldn’t bring himself to care though, because her smile made up for the little blunder and he picked her up into his arms. 

“Dad!” She protested. “I’m a big girl now you don’t gotta pick me up!” Her actions betrayed their words, though, as she wrapped her tiny arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder. He was certain Sister Agatha had smiled fondly at them as he walked out of the school holding her, stopping just outside of the doors to set her little feet back on the ground. She held up her creation for him and he took it, studying it intently. It was….very….Millie. It had pink stickers and pink glitter on pink paper. 

“It’s lovely,” he smiled down at her. “Is this for me?”

She beamed up at him and nodded. “I made it in art class today. Did you know that you can mix colors to make other colors?! Red and white make PINK!” She hopped up and down excitedly.

“Really? What about the other colors?” He took her hand with the one that wasn’t holding the artwork and their walk home was filled with an animated discussion about colors and how pink was her favorite and how she wanted a pink house and a pink car when she grows up. He hoped that it happened slowly, because she was perfect, and she needed him and he couldn’t imagine the day when she wouldn’t anymore. 

Dinner was simple, chicken and vegetables, half covered in cheese because unfortunately that’s the only way Millie would eat them. It was filled with conversation about how chickens make eggs and they’d had eggs for breakfast so technically they’d had chicken twice. He laughed at her jokes that were surprisingly funny, but that was probably because he was biased. She helped him with the dishes, standing on a footstool in front of the sink and he wondered what ever possessed him to ever consider letting someone interrupt their little life together. It had always been just them. How could they ever make another person fit?

He resolved to tell Ben in the morning that the date wasn’t such a good idea as he tucked Millie into bed and read her a few pages from ‘The Prince and The Pauper’ until she was sound asleep and snoring softly. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead and left her room quietly, shutting off the princess lamp on his way out. 

He went into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of wine and drank it slowly, leaning against the counter as he thought about what exactly he’d say to Ben, and how saying it was going to hurt both of them. It wasn’t like Hux wasn’t interested, because he definitely was. He just didn’t know how well Ben would fit into his life, no matter how bad he wanted him to. Someone like Hux came with a certain amount of baggage that he was sure someone else wouldn’t want to deal with, and not to mention his daughter. Ben didn’t even know about her, and seeing him react negatively to the news would only break Hux’s heart. He  
figured he’d save them both the trouble and end it before it even started. 

Hux finished off his wine and put his glass in the sink, shutting all the lights off as he made his way into his bedroom. He checked the handgun in the secret compartment of his bedside drawer, releasing the clip to make sure the rounds were in it and clicked the safety off then back on, just to be sure, as was his nightly ritual. He undressed and put on some pajamas and crawled into bed, thankful for the day to finally be over. Willing his mind to stop racing, he tucked a pillow under his head and sighed into the dark. The last thought he had before he fell asleep was how something about the whole Ben situation felt off, and it was definitely the fact that Hux wanted him and couldn’t really have him. It had to be.


End file.
